I am looking at getting some sort of external mass storage device for my growing collection of media. It will only be used for video and music so a high speed is not necessary. (Initial data transfer will take longer I know, but for general usage (i.e. playback) it doesn't need monster bandwidth.) I'm not rich, so I am trying to find a cheap solution and I could do with suggestions on the best way to achieve this. I am looking for about 8TB of storage space. Will settle for as little as 4TB if this makes a solution more viable from a technical point of view, but would prefer 8TB so my storage needs will hopefully be satisfied for a good long while. What kind of hardware/set-ups would you advise me to look at? (Not scared of buying separate parts and assembling myself if needed.)
Hi I have been running a NAS so I can stream media all over my network. It has worked out fine but for my level of usage, around the 2TB mark, I'll be looking to change over to an external HDD plugged into my router. You have not put whether you would like this available across the network ? Internal 3TB drives could be the answer ? You can get both NAS and Caddy cases that you populate with drives though the limit tends to be 2 drives for a caddy and 4 for a NAS, though that level of NAS is pricey. If you are set on getting that amount of storage it may not be a bad idea to get a home server put together. It can handle the back ups etc, as losing that much data would be a headache !! Ed
I think you really should be thinking about a scalable NAS. Not that far into the future most home electronic devices will be networked in some way and a NAS will provide your "digital bookshelf". 8Tb is pretty hefty for an off-the-shelf variant, though companies like Ripcaster (https://www.ripcaster.co.uk/node/128) can provide them. As Ed says, you may get better value building a home server/NAS than buying one. As an aside I have a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ 4 bay NAS surplus at the moment. PM me if you're interested, though even if not I would recommend going the NAS route. All the best, Cleggy.
It is only for my machine, so not needed to run across a network, although I do have a spare RJ45 connection on the PC so something could be connected direct to that if needed. I was originally going to add a couple of extra 2TB HDD's internally, but three out of my six SATA connections are now covered by my new GTX 470. (Bad mobo design.) I currently have two HDD's and a DVD drive connected to the 3 available SATA ports, so that leaves me with an external option only. Available connections that I can use externally are: USB2 E-SATA Firewire RJ45 A home server is not really an option as I don't have that kind of cash available. Plus me and networking kinda go together like oil and water. XD As I said 8TB would be nice, but will settle for less if it is needed from a hardware/technical point of view. I was thinking of getting something like this and adding 4 drives of my own: http://www.micomonline.co.uk/products.asp?partno=SAT3540ER2&go But was wondering if their was a cheaper option.
since you have no interest in networking capabilities, an esata enclosure like the one you linked is probably a good option. a 4 bay enclosure with 4x 2tb drives sounds like a winner. make sure that it will support 2+tb size drives before you buy though, some don't. on the other hand you don't need much of a spec machine for a home server. i have used stuff as low end as a 333mhz p2 system with a couple of cheap sata add on cards and random hard drives. you can find a lot of stuff second hand for dirt cheap, and nas software is free (freenas /open filer/ etc). i guess it really depends though on your ultimate usage, and if you think you might need more extendability later on.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think I will go for the E-SATA enclosure as that also gives me the option of carting the whole lot to different computers if needed and they are not in the same house. (Like my mothers or sisters PC).
